


Follow close, feel the high, gather all the lives

by RENielsen



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Death Niall, Enjoy!, Famine Harry, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Freeform, I don't really know what to tag this?, M/M, Nouis, Pestilence Liam, Pining, War Louis, alternative universe, quite a lot of Pining, this is a mess i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 17:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7693060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RENielsen/pseuds/RENielsen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Louis knows they’re here, even though he can’t see them with his back turned towards them, and though none of them has said a word yet. It’s the crackling feeling of so much power being locked together in such a small amount of space. It’s been such a long time since they last were gathered together like this, but Louis has no problems recognising the feeling.</em>
</p><p>  <em>“What have you done?” Niall whispers, seeming so sad that Louis almost feels bad. He doesn’t though, because when it comes down to it, he has done nothing wrong.</em></p><p> </p><p>One Direction as the four horsemen of the apocalypse, featuring Niall as death, Louis as war, Harry as famine and Liam as pestilence.  Alone they’re able to cause so much trouble, but when the four horsemen get together they can lay down the world as we know it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Follow close, feel the high, gather all the lives

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so this is an idea based of the four horsemen in the bible, but since I'm not a very religious person, then 99% of this is pure fiction. There's also a few things I've written that I know is wrong, but chose to write anyway, so if that's something you're able to live with, please enjoy!

Louis is currently in Doncaster, has been for the last couple of decades now. All four of them had made an agreement; stay low long enough for humanity to once again be ready for a bit of disaster. Last they’d all been going world war two had happened. There’d been so much dead, so much disaster, and Louis had been thrilled, just as the three other had been.

Sometimes it’s hard to control his powers. His mere presence usually causes arguments and fight around him without him even doing anything. He really has to concentrate hard to avoid trouble and honestly it has never really been something Louis is very good at. He promised Niall though, just as Harry and Liam did.

The promise had sounded like this: no interactions with the humans to Niall gave the go. No wars, no hunger and no sickness. Of course they all knew when the agreement was made that all of those things would happen anyway, because there’s really no way to stop it totally, but as Niall had said if they kept going like they did in the thirties and the forties then there would be no more humans on the planet, which would also mean that the four of them would no longer be able to exist. Or well they’d probably survive for a century or two, but just like humans all four horsemen need to feed to survive.

Louis knows that out of the four of them then Niall needs to feed the most. He’s the one who feels the high the most, but also the one who would die first in case they ran out of people to play with, which is kinda ironic considered the pale boy is death himself.

He’s always the hardest to find, could literally be wherever in the world without Louis knowing, just the opposite of the others. If Louis really wanted to he could in less than five minutes figure out where exactly both Harry and Liam is right now, and that’s without much trouble at all. The only reason it’d take him so long is because of the agreement. If they’d all been doing their thing, it would have taken even less time.

Though he’ll never be able to figure out where Niall is, then he’ll always know how to get him to come to him. You see as death, Niall is attracted to places where everything is falling apart. Through all the big wars, Louis had Niall following behind closely, which is without doubt the biggest reason he misses being able to use his powers.

Being a horseman is a lonely job. Humans do nothing to entertain him except when he’s able to make them pieces in his wars, and whenever the group is gathered together the world threats to go under.  He has seen neither Harry nor Liam since the ending of the forties. The last he saw of Niall was when he got scolded for causing nine eleven in 2001. It wasn’t even that bad. A little accident, that’s all; a quick visit in New York that hadn’t quite gone after the plan. Louis has wondered ever since how Niall knew that he was to fault for that, but that some of all the other wars and terror attacks had had nothing to do with him. Maybe he was just so incredible unlucky that Niall had been in the city at the same time as himself, but for some reason he has this idea that it isn’t quite the answer. He has often considered too, if Niall got some sort of powers he never has told the others about.

Not that it matters much anyway. It happened and Louis can’t do much to change that, not that he would have done it if he could. Everything in him already itches to cause some chaos and to see a glimpse of a pale horse with its breathtaking horseman.

“I’m sorry,” a young girl gasps out when she collides with Louis. She clings to his arms in a try to stay on her feet. Louis just sends her a sly smile, as he can feel the butterflies and laughter disappear inside her and instead is taking over by a sudden rage and want to cause trouble. She blinks a couple of times, like she can’t quite figure out what just happened.

“It’s quite alright, Love,” he murmurs softly, letting go of her before anymore dark thoughts finds its way into her head.

He knows he should have been more careful. A single touch from him can easily make people do a lot of ugly things, and this is exactly how the whole nine eleven thing happened all those years ago. He isn’t really worried though. The girl can’t be more than seventeen years old, and by the feeling he got from her she normally isn’t quite the type to do anything too stupid, not even with his touch. If she’s unlucky then she’ll be grounded when she comes back to herself in a couple of hours.

“Have a good day,” he then says with a slight nod, as he carefully not to touch her again moves on.

He gets a weird feeling of being watched from that moment. Nonetheless he doesn’t bother to as much as look around for whomever as he continues making his way to the nearest starbucks. It still feels like he got eyes clued to his neck when he begins walking back to the small flat he’s living in. It’s not until he’s ten ft from his flat that the feeling disappears, but by then Louis already knows what’s waiting for him once he gets inside.

“I thought the deal was to stay low,” a hoarse voice hisses. Louis feels bad for him, because unlike Louis Niall has an even harder time interacting with the living. Whereas a quick touch from Louis can cause trouble, a touch from Niall means instant dead.

“Good to see you too, Niall. How’s Death?” Louis says brightly, as he takes a place beside Niall on the sofa, and as if an afterthought he thoughtfully adds, “And I thought I was? Don’t remember being fault in anything big lately. Quite boring to be honest.”

“She’s good. I assume War is by good health too? And stop trying to change the subject! I specifically remember warning you to be careful! That girl you just so carelessly walked into could have been the start of another terror attack or if really unlucky a war!”

Yeah, sometimes Louis really does wonder why he fancy Niall so much. He’s been no fun the last century. It’s like he’s worried that even the smallest little thing will destroy humanity, which Louis just finds stupid. He will admit that the humans have got more destructive as time has gone by. He barely has to do anything at all to set fire to the ideas in their heads, and so many things happen without his help at all. It isn’t a challenge for him anymore and he honestly misses the times where he actually had to work for it.

He doesn’t really mind the scolding though. At least he got Niall right here beside him for once. It’s only been a small fifteen years since he last saw him, which is nothing at all for them, but Louis still hasn’t gone a day without thinking about him.

“Actually I haven’t seen War since 2001, so I guess you should know as well as I do,” Louis snarls grumpily. He knows she’s okay of course; he even knows that she’s having a lot more fun that he is, since Niall can’t make any of the horses but his own do as he says, which also means that War isn’t a part of any agreement Louis might have said yes to. Damn lucky horse that’s what she is.

For a second the annoyed look on Niall’s face disappears and instead Louis sees the sympathy in his eyes. The horses are their other halves so to say, and it hurts a lot when they decide to stay away for a long time. Louis knows she’s only doing it in spite, and that she’ll be back by his side the second Niall allows them to use their powers a little more freely again.

“I didn’t know, I’m sorry to hear. Both Famine and Pestilence are acting out too,” he says with a sigh. “Liam hasn’t seen Pestilence since the sixties, and Harry’s chasing Famine around in Africa at the moment and has been trying to catch her the last five years.”

“Why aren’t I surprised? And let me guess? The dear Death is as sweet and obedient as usual?”

“She’s been a bit restless lately, but she’s in Ireland right now, just waiting for me to come get her,” Niall says with a shrug, not really sounding apologising at all that once again this agreement doesn’t ruin anything for him, but only for the three others.

“Is that so?” Louis mutters a bit annoyed. Niall has Death _waiting_ for him in Ireland and Louis doesn’t even freaking know where War _is._

A small smirk forms on Niall’s lips, and Louis can’t help but imagine how it would feel to be able to kiss it away, but at the same time he kinda want to throw him out of his flat for being a cocky bastard as usual.

“Back to the point for me being here. Stop fooling around. The world isn’t ready for another disaster. I don’t care if you have to sit in this flat for the next fifty years to keep things under control, but I’m serious, Louis. No more accidents. I want nothing to happen until I tell you to, do you understand?”

“I don’t think you’ve quite understood the point of being a horseman of the apocalypse. I’m not on this planet to sit and watch the humans destroy themselves. It’s _my_ job! And who made you boss anyway,” Louis grumbles, wanting more than anything to throw Niall out right now.

Niall sends him a hard glance, before repeating, “Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Niall disappears in a blink of the eye. It’s like he was never even here in the first place.

¤¤¤

Exactly two days passes by where Louis does not move a muscle. He’s still sitting on the sofa where Niall left him. It doesn’t bother his body not moving around. He isn’t a human, or in other words, he isn’t weak. He could probably have done exactly what Niall had said, and used the next fifty years not leaving the flat without any problems at all.

The thing is though, he doesn’t _want_ to. He’s so bloody tired of pretending. And seriously who did in fact make Niall the boss? Louis can’t remember ever saying good for that!

Enough is enough, and Louis is ready to stop this stupid break of theirs. First part of the plan though, is to get the others to agree to this too. Maybe Niall will be able to resist the temptation of souls if it’s only Louis offering them to him, but with Harry and Liam on his side to, then Niall will be so high up that Louis will be able pet him like a tame animal.

It doesn’t take him more than a second to decide that he should definitely start off with Harry, for the simple reason that it has always been easier to get Harry to join his stupid ideas than Liam. Liam is so far up Niall’s arse, and okay maybe Louis isn’t really in his right place to judge anyone when it comes to Niall, that he sadly enough will be quite much harder to convince that it’s a good idea to drop the agreement without Niall’s consent.

 _Africa it is then,_ he thinks, already feeling so much more _alive_ and like himself than he has done in forever.

Unfortunately Louis does not have Niall’s ability to travel without actually moving at all, so instead he finds his computer and pay the price for the first and best ticket he’s able to find on a direct plane to Africa. If just War had actually wanted to show her face, then this travel would have been so much easier.

As he’s boarding the plane only a few hours later, he swears he sees a glimpse of a bloody red colour out on the runway. It’s gone before he can be sure though. Through the long flight he keeps seeing the same red colour every once in a while when the clouds are almost gone and he’s able to see the ground from where he’s sitting by the window.

It gives him hope. A hope that maybe War is done being a tease and is ready to come back and keep him company soon. 

It’s the middle of the night when the plane lands, but to Louis it isn’t really a bother. He has always preferred travelling in the night anyway. Fewer humans are out and about, making it easier for him to get around without getting noticed. He could of course always use his powers and travel invisibly, but doing that has always caused him nausea, especially when War isn’t with him, so he’d rather just not.

He’s trying to find some sort of car rent when something catches his eyes. A smirk forms on his lips, as he forgets everything about the car, and instead quickly begins following her. That was honestly easier than he had thought it’d be.

She waits for him in the shadows, far away enough from everything that she won’t be spotted by anyone but Louis. She’s as glorious as Louis remembers her.

“Famine,” he whispers, making sure to stay far enough away that he won’t seem threatening.

Her black fur is shining brightly, and she’s so big that even the lowest part of her back is higher than Louis will ever be. The only thing he could point out is that she seems a bit thinner than last he saw her, but then again he can imagine that all four of the horses will have lost weight after not being fed properly for decades.

“I’ve heard you’ve caused Harry some trouble,” he grins. She moves a bit when he says the name, like she agrees with him. “Good. Can’t have him getting lazy now, can we?” A neigh leaves her, and Louis can almost see the smug look in her face.

Famine is probably his favourite, besides War of course. There’s this fire in her, which both Pestilence and Death doesn’t have quite as much. She’s also the only one he’d be able to convince to give him a ride out of the three. Sometimes Louis thinks it’s because she likes him too, but other times he thinks it has more to do with how it makes Harry react every time she turns to Louis instead of him. He’s going to have a flip when he finds out that she showed to Louis before to him, and Louis can’t help but find that incredible funny.

“You ready to get back to work? I got this plan, but I need Harry for it. Would you be willing to find him for me?”

She neighs again, before she carefully lies down on the ground so Louis is able to get on her back. Such a sweetheart when it comes to it, really. War would have laughed him right into the head and told him to man up, probably because that’s what Louis himself would have done, but whatever.

He’s almost forgotten exactly how amazing it feels to ride like this. Humans think they’ve gotten it so damn right with all their new and fancy machines, but nothing will ever be able to beat the feeling of freedom it brings riding a horse. Especially their four horses, because no ordinary horse would ever be able to follow along for this.

It’s a bit like he got wings. The wind messing up his hair and folding around him like a soft blanket. The warm feeling from Famine underneath him makes sure that he doesn’t get lost totally.

Louis doesn’t really know how long they’re on the move. It feels like nothing but a few minutes, but going from how the sun is slowly showing, then it’s probably more likely been a couple of hours, when Famine slows her pace until she stops totally right outside what looks like a small town. She doesn’t even have to do anything for Louis to know that Harry is close. He can feel the energy from his fellow horseman. It takes Harry exactly forty-six seconds to be standing in front of them, and he does not look happy.

“What are you doing here?” he hisses as the first thing. “Niall is going to kill you.”

“I’m here to reunite you with this lovely lady,” Louis says, trying to sound innocent, but even he can hear how much he fails. He slides down from her back, because Harry kinda looks like he wants to hit him.

“Yes that’s another thing we’ll have to discuss. Stay away from her! You’re a bad impact on her.”

Louis can’t help but laugh, and Famine seems like she’s laughing just as loudly inside Harry’s head, or at least she does if the expression on Harry’s face is anything to go by.

“You what?!” Harry then shrieks out a second later, Famine clearly having told him the real reason for Louis’ visit. “Are you absolutely crazy, Louis? Niall said no, and I know for a fact that he has already been by and scolding you at least once since the agreement. Try imagining what he’ll do to you if you downright start a _war_ as the things are now!”

“Trust me, I’ve been considering that for two whole days, and you know what? He can’t do shit. He can’t kill me, wouldn’t even want to, and he wouldn’t be able to stop it from happening anyway. I know he got a lot of fancy powers, but he can’t work against ours; especially not if the three of us all spread a little chaos. And admit it; you miss this just as much as me.”

Famine pushes to Harry with her head, almost making him loose balance and fall. Honest to god, Louis has never met anyone as clumsy as Harry. He’s always falling over things and walks into literally everything on his way. It’s kinda amazing, truth be told. A ‘special’ kind of talent if you may. Louis finds it hysterically funny.

Louis lifts an eyebrow at Harry, doesn’t even have to say the words out loud, because for crying out loud, Famine is probably already screaming them inside his head.

“Alright! If you can convince Liam to join then let’s do it!”

A smirk forms on his lips, as he watches Harry struggle to push Famine away so she won’t make him fall flat on his arse. That was honestly so much easier than he thought it’d be, which probably just proves how much they all need to let go for a while. Louis doesn’t even care how long they’ll do it, as long as he just for a moment, long or short, will be able to do exactly what he was put into this world for.

It isn’t so much that he doesn’t get why Niall is worried, because he really does understand, and when he let himself think it over, he feels the same kind of panic Niall has surrounded himself in. He hasn’t purposely used his powers since sometime in the forties, and the same thing goes for both Harry and Liam, but the world is still full of war, hunger and sickness. It’s very possible that none of the things are as bad as when the three of them had a part to play, but it’s still happening, which in itself is worrisome.

He doesn’t feel ready to die, not even though he has lived since the first human stood on earth and won’t die for at least another century if mankind was destroyed on this day, but when all comes to it, he knows why they’re here in the first place. Maybe the day isn’t today, and maybe Niall is right and they should keep dormant, but one day whatever far into the future it’ll be their jobs as the four horsemen of the apocalypse to give the population on Earth an ending so the planet can have a new beginning.

The fact that the humans have become so destructive all on their own is to Louis nothing but a sign that maybe that one day isn’t as far into the future as they might all want it to be. Louis has seen, and so he knows the three others have too, how carelessly the planet is being treated, how the humans are destroying the only thing the four of them have ever had to keep alive, healthy, well fed and in peace.

Maybe the day isn’t today, but to Louis today will be the start; if not to fulfil their purpose, then to at least make sure the humans doesn’t get to destroy the planet anytime soon. It’ll only be a plus to Louis if all this also means he’ll be able to have Niall following him like an angry little puppy. He’d of course prefer having Niall’s companionship without the angry part, but he’s realistic enough to know that it’s probably not gonna happen anytime soon.

¤¤¤

Liam turns out to be surprisingly hard to find. Louis totally ignores everything Harry tries to say, because to say it as it is the curly haired man has always had a tendency to make him very confused when he tries to explain something, just another Harry thing he guesses.

So yeah he has totally closed his ears as Harry continues to babble away, and instead concentrates on locating Liam. The thing about Liam is that he’s definitely the one that’s best to suppress his powers. They don’t leak as much from him as they does from Harry and Louis, which makes it a pain in the arse to try and find him, especially if he doesn’t really want to be found. It’s not impossible though, not like with Niall, but he might have lied when he said it would take less than five minutes. Might have, no one was counting though!

“London!” he yells excited.

“I’ve been trying to tell you that the last ten minutes,” Harry mutters offended.

“Yeah, yeah. Do you think the lovely Famine will be willing to carry both of us?” he asks Harry, but his eyes turned towards where Famine is grazing a couple of ft from the house Harry was staying in for the night.

“No.”

“And why not?” Louis asks smirking; already having figured out that it probably won’t be Famine who’s against it, but more likely Harry himself.

A whole of ten seconds before Harry sighs. “I can’t think of anything that won’t sound like a complete lie. Can I say because she just won’t?”

“No, you can’t. With that cleared, are you ready to leave?”

“I guess.”

¤¤¤

Harry purely refuses to let Louis sit in the front, which they end up arguing about for a solid of an hour before Famine nips at Harry’s hair and, as Louis assumes, scolds him for being an idiot. A loud huff and two minutes of staring contest later, Louis can happily crawl up on Famine’s back with Harry behind him.

The speed of the apocalypse horses is only one of the many things they’re able to do. Being invisible is another. Running over water is a third. In other words, they’re like the coolest horses ever; coolest anything ever, really.

Louis doesn’t necessarily think that Famine is able to run faster than an airplane could fly, know for a fact that she can’t, but in a way they still arrive to London faster than they’d been able to travelling by plane. It probably has to do with the fact that this way they won’t have to wait in the airport forever first and then again when they arrive in England. Riding on Famine’s back is a more direct way to get by.

As soon as they reach land, Louis feels the familiar nausea following by Famine disappearing underneath him. He can’t see Harry’s hands around his waist anymore either, and his own body quickly becomes transparent as it reacts to the powers of the two other. _Damn both of them,_ Louis thinks, _and damn War for not being here so the nausea isn’t as bad_. He’s lightheaded and really wants to do nothing but puke, but unfortunately, probably fortunately for everyone else, his body doesn’t allow him to do that. Sometimes he really can’t help but envy the humans and how easy they have it with so many things. 

“You should think you’d have gotten used to it by now,” Harry laughs in his ear, way too amused by his suffering. He probably deserves it, but that doesn’t make it any better.

“Leave me alone,” Louis groans. He wants nothing but to smack him as hard as he can, but if he does that he’s most likely going to fall down from Famine’s back, and he honestly think he’s feeling bad enough as it is already.

“I’d forgotten how much you whine when you feel bad.”

“Shut up! At least I’m not the one who gets nightmares by seeing a little blood.”

“That was _one_ time. Please, let it go will you?” Harry says, and Louis can clearly hear the pout in his voice.

It isn’t entirely true either of course. They don’t actually get nightmares, because they don’t sleep like humans do. They rest when their powers has been corroded. If you asked a human to describe it, then they’d most likely call it sleep, but among the four of them they all know that it can’t really be compared. What Harry had gotten had merely been flashes of a war Louis had created so long ago that mankind no longer remembers it, which is too bad really, because it had been a glorious battle. Niall had followed him closely for twenty-seven years straight back then; hungry for the souls his wars had created. See that was the good old days.

Famine makes a stop near a starbucks, and Louis happily gets down. “Ah perfect,” he says, as he immediately walks towards the coffeehouse. He can hear Harry sigh, before following behind. Louis doesn’t pay him any attention as he gets in line and impatiently waits for his turn. This is one of the few things humans have gotten right. Louis loves the variety of different coffees and teas he’s able to get here. It’s perfect!

“Niall did mention your love for starbucks,” he grumbles as Louis sits down at the little table Harry is waiting by. “I don’t get it.”

“Is he stalking me, because I don’t think I get nearly enough visits for him to be able to know that otherwise?” Louis smirks, taking a sip of the iced latte.

“Who knows? It’s Niall; he likes to do his own thing and pop in every once in a while to check up on us.”

“I only get visits when he comes to scold me though.” The frown on his face, makes Harry laugh, but Louis really doesn’t find it funny. Does that mean that Niall visits Liam and Harry just for the fun of it, but when it comes to him it’s only when he means Louis needs to know his place?

“Don’t do that. No wars right now!” a voice says sharply, just as a hand smacks him not so gently over the head. Louis hadn’t even noticed how the whole shop gradually had become more and more uneasy as the emotions bubbled up instead him. Bloody Niall for making him feel like this! Fuck him for not realising exactly what he does to Louis without even being there.

“Liam,” he says coolly, his hands moving into fists in a try to keep everything under control.

“Harry texted; said I had to talk some sense into you, so please explain why he thinks you’re being an idiot now, except for the obvious of course which is your lack of control.”

“He texted? I don’t remember anyone sharing phone numbers,” Louis says offended, totally ignoring everything else he just said.

“Well Ni....”

“Don’t mention Niall right now. Apparently it’s a sensitive topic at the moment,” Harry grins.

“Does he have some kind of problem with me? Not only am I the only one not getting visits, and now you tell me he goes around making sure everyone but me are able to contact each other,” he grumbles angrily. Liam and Harry send each other eyes, like they think Louis aren’t able to see them.

They both hesitate for a little, but then Liam shrugs and Harry says, “It’s not so much that he has a problem with you, but... how do I say this nicely? He thinks you fancy him, and he says that’s totally inappropriate?”

Louis feels like his eyes are as big as teacups, and he somehow can’t stop his jaw from hanging open in surprise. Auch that hurts and well, this is really embarrassing. “Then why in the world is he still hanging around you guys?” he bites out. “The amount of heart eyes being sent in his direction when any of you is around is almost unbearable.”

Of course that immediately causes discussions. Both Liam and Harry try to deny wholeheartedly, but they all know Louis is right. It’s kinda sickening how much they’re all in love with Niall, but apparently that’s only a problem when it comes to Louis. Everyone else gets a free pass to be grossly in love with him.

In a way Louis doesn’t even find it weird; kinda thinks that their powers and bond to one another gives it some sense of purpose. All three of them have powers that are so different. The only thing they all got in common is the endgame, or in other words: Niall. Through the millenniums they’ve all kinda competed to be the one causing the most disaster. Louis remembers how proud Liam had been through the Black Death, and how Liam through those years had been Niall’s new favourite, or when it had been Harry’s turn when the Great Famine in Ireland had happened. _The potato disaster,_ Louis can’t help but think, almost laughing out loud. It’d been after that that Niall’s big love for Ireland had happened, and Louis suspects him for visiting the country more often than he probably has time for, considered that he as death has quite a lot on hand.

None of all those times really matters though, not even the countless of others times Louis knows Niall has favoured the others over him, because Louis also knows that when it comes down to it, then he has given the pale boy so much more than the two others ever have. He has started wars for no other reason than the fact that he missed having Niall around. He has had thousands of people killed, only to be able to see the glimpse in Niall’s eyes when the countless of souls finally made him feel well fed.

This though, this feels like it matters, and most importantly it _hurts._

“You know what? Just forget it. Harry’s right; I’m being an idiot. Just... I guess I’ll see you guys sometimes in the near future,” Louis begins muttering, interrupting Harry and Liam’s continuing protesting, as he quickly gets up from the chair he’s sitting in. He doesn’t even pay the rest of the iced latte any mind as he continues. “Tell Niall to... no don’t. Bad idea. Although if he somehow finds out about this meeting, tell him I said ‘fuck you’ would you? And tell him he don’t have to bother coming to check up on me. No reason to make his highness uncomfortable with my pining.”

“Louis,” Liam says softly, but Louis doesn’t stay and listen to what he has to say. What’s the freaking point anyway? Apparently he’s nothing but an annoyance to all of them. Not good for anything, but disaster. A long time ago Louis thought that was enough. He sees now just how wrong he was.

¤¤¤

“This is pathetic.”

Louis ignores the soft voice, and instead just keeps his eyes closed shut tightly. He’s hiding beneath a giant mountain of pillows and blankets. He lost count over how long he’s been here after the first week, but it doesn’t really matter. This is the most peaceful he’s felt in forever. The urge to cause problems has died down to nearly nothing. He thinks it helps a little that he’s so damn close to be able to shut down totally and finally get some damn deserved rest.

“Are you just going to lie there till I say good for another war? Where are the fighting spirit and the desire to rebel?” Niall asks thoughtfully. The sound of his voice seems to get closer, but Louis still doesn’t react, not even the least bit.  For all he cares Niall can go to hell, as long as he bloody leaves him the fuck alone.

He’s fucking done with this shit. They can be the three horsemen of the apocalypse. He quit. And if that isn’t a possibility, then they can come get him once they need to destroy humanity. Until then he’ll be right here, taking a much needed nap.

“I’m actually quite disappointed, you know. I kinda thought you’d be all over by now, having dragged Liam and Harry into some kind of master plan just to despite me. I was expecting a lot of shit needing to get cleaned up, but here you are, _hiding_ away beneath you bedcovers.”

“Fuck you,” he groans out, because of course those two shitheads weren’t able to keep their mouths shut about what he had been doing.

“They already told me you said that. They also said I shouldn’t bother visiting and that you probably were going to be moody. Care to explain?”

“Fuck of.”

“Get up!”

“No. I’m trying to be ‘appropriate’, so please fuck of,” Louis spits out, the anger finally tearing him out of the numbness he has been feeling ever since the day with Liam and Harry.

“The fuck does that even mean?” Niall hisses, sounding just as angry as Louis, as he apparently deems it being enough and literally pushes Louis out of the bed.

Louis has never been up so fast, the covers doing nothing to stop the quick movement. His fingers move into tight fists, as he does everything to convince himself that it’d be a bad idea to punch Niall in the face. Fuck man, it would be so satisfying. Almost as much as it would be to kiss him until they can’t breathe. A metaphor of course, because even though they do breathe, it’s mostly to not be cut of the ability to smell. He doesn’t think they’d actually become breathless from kissing. At least he can’t remember ever becoming so when he has been kissing pretty birds and handsome blokes through the years, but that could as well just be because humans are so fragile, and looses their breath so easily.

There’s something about the way Niall’s looking at him, almost like he could just as well be screaming: do it! He’s not sure which part he wants him to do.

In a split of a second he decides to say fuck it, and to let go of just a tiny bit of his anger. It’s probably not rational at all, but then again when has he ever been? He swings his clenched fist toward the side of Niall’s head before any of them can even realise what’s happening. Niall still somehow manages to disappear before he hits.

Louis isn’t really sure whether he should be happy about that or not.

He kind of expects him to turn up again and begin yelling, but after a couple of minutes have passed without anything happening, Louis finally realises how much he fucked up. Not only is he an useless idiot, he has now also made sure he’s not going to see Niall again anytime soon, which sucks because it wasn’t really like he saw him much already.

“Bloody hell,” he whines, as he almost falls down on the bed. Why did he have to turn up in the first place? Louis clearly annoys him, and he would have been just fine on his own, sulking all day long.

He only stays in bed for another five minutes. _Pathetic,_ Niall had said. _Disappointed._ Nothing he does anymore seems to be right. When he tries to live his life and _by accident_ uses his powers, he gets scolded. When he decides to go against Niall, he gets called an idiot. When he gives up and does nothing at all, he’s being told he’s pathetic and a disappointment.

If the last couple of days, or weeks whatever, have showed him anything then it’ll have to be the fact that when it comes down to it, the bond he thought was so strong between the four of them means absolutely nothing. At least not if you’re Louis, and if that’s the case then why exactly should he give a damn about any of them? Clearly they don’t give a fuck about him in return.

Louis _likes_ using his powers. It makes him happy and being the cause of things as great as wars has him feeling powerful beyond what humans could ever understand.

He feels a bit like he’s going to explode into a thousand pieces, but also a bit like he can’t breathe properly. It’s stupid really, but he still gets out of the warm bedroom and doesn’t stop before he’s standing on the little balcony belonging to the flat.

The fresh air cleans his head just a little and he can’t help but think as he looks into the darkness of the night; think about just how satisfying it’d be to prove all of them wrong. Prove to all of them that the world won’t be destroyed totally yet by them using their powers. Prove to Harry and Liam that he’s far from being an idiot, but most of all prove to Niall that if anything then Louis isn’t _pathetic._

He closes his eyes and whistles a little melody. _Come home,_ he thinks, pushing all he can to be sure the message gets to her. He isn’t expecting to see her bloody red body, dancing around just down the street as soon as he opens his eyes, but somehow she still is.

A small smile forms on his lips.

The thing is; Louis really doesn’t mean to cause chaos everywhere he goes, at least not _all_ the time, but he can’t normally say he regrets it when Niall follows closely behind to gather the lives his wars cost, because if Louis has to be truly honest with himself, then he has this _thing_ for the pale horseman. Not that he apparently has to tell that to anybody, since everyone already seems to bloody know.

This time though, Louis has had enough. Fuck everyone else and their opinions. He’ll do just fine on his own! Who needs those three idiots anyway? Everything he does need is the beauty just down there, and going by how she’s dancing around in happiness and triumph she agrees.

_Ready to spread some panic, Darling?_

_If I’d known it’d be this easy to get you to come home, I’d been ready long ago,_ Louis grins in return.

 _Bullshit. You were too far up the little blond boy’s arse to even think about it. I’m just glad you’ve finally realised that he isn’t God, and never will be,_ she teases. _Now come down here. We got quite a lot of catching up to do, don’t you think?_

And yeah, Louis agrees. It’s been too long, both since he last saw her, but also since they last freely were able to use their powers. Besides, she’s right. Niall isn’t God, is not even close to be. God’s being a selfish prick like usual. Louis bets he does nothing but sit safely up in heaven all day long, laughing at them all as they try their best. It’s not that Louis thinks the Devil is any better. Those two smartarses are the reason the four of them even exists, for nothing but to do all their dirty work. Seven days of work God and Lucifer had put together to create everything, and after that they decided that it must have been enough fucking work for the rest of infinity. 

The only thing he really can thank them for is not making him do it all by himself. At least they were kind enough to give him a partner in crime and someone to keep him company when he feels lonely. Or well the last part being more of an on and off thing, all considered War’s current mood, and damn does he has to say she’s one moody creature.

He doesn’t hesitate after that. He hurries into the flat once again, and change into some fresh clothes before leaving without looking back. He doesn’t know whether or not he’s ever going to come back here, but it doesn’t matter much. There’s nothing in there that means a thing to him anyway. It’s all replaceable, and trust him when he says that it won’t be the first time he’s done it. He doesn’t even bother finding his keys and locking the door.

It feels so good to be moving around again. He got so much energy in his body from all those days he spend not moving at all. He’s literally buzzing.

A time period of two minutes goes from he sees her standing down the street till his arms locks around her neck. For the first time in fifteen years he feels complete. 

 _You arse! Next time could you at least come visiting?_ he asks kinda annoyed, but the relief and the happiness are so big  that even he can hear how vague it is.

The laughter is so clear inside his head. She doesn’t have to say it, he just knows that if it ever comes back to this ‘hibernation’ then she’ll be gone before he’s even able to try and convince her to stay. She doesn’t send the thought to him, but he can still hear how she thinks ‘I’m not a pet, nor will I ever be. I’m your partner, and when there’s no business to attend I won’t be here just to make you feel better’. And really he gets it. She wasn’t created to follow him and adore him like the humans’ pets do. She’s his equal in each and every way and they both know it. Sometimes Louis can’t help but think that just maybe she’s even better than he is in so many ways. At least no one thinks of her as a failure.

She’d probably also just eat them alive if anyone ever tries to say that she is, but that really is not the point.

 _So... where are we gonna start?_ War asks, looking at him with shining eyes.

 _It’s such a long time since I’ve last been in Ireland,_ he says smugly. _How about you, my dear?_

_The Emerald Isle. Think I was there sometime last year, but I certainly don’t mind revisiting. It’s such a lovely place. I’m sure we can work miracles there._

_Yeah, I think so too._

¤¤¤

Louis is standing on a hill not far away from the small town in flames. It’s so satisfying to see it burn down to the ground. He can already see the souls wandering around; lost and with no idea what’s going on. It’d been so easy. A little wish of revenge planted in the mind of a weak soul. The anger and the poison in the man’s mind had spread as fast as a forest fire in the warmest summer, and in less than an hour the whole town had been fighting each other like wild men.

In a way he’s disappointed. It went so fast and it died down so quickly. By burning down the town, the humans in it unconsciously also stopped all chances of it spreading any further. It won’t change anything, because Louis can already feel the thrill from where War is working her magic in the neighbour-town, and even if the people there do the exact same thing and burn everything down, then it won’t cost them anything to just start up again somewhere else.

Ireland is in war with itself right now, but it won’t take long before the poison spreads to the right people, and the war will continue outside of the country.

Louis expects Niall to be the first to arrive, but he has still not seen any signs that the pale boy is going to show up when the first reapers finds their way into the still burning town. He knows the grim reapers is everywhere in the world, always ready to lead the souls of the dead to Niall so the blond can make sure they safely gets to either heaven or hell, but normally Louis doesn’t see them, because normally Niall’s there to do all the work when it’s Louis who’s behind the deaths. In principle Niall could just choose not to ever do the field work, because no matter if he does so or if it’s the reapers that do it for him, then he’ll still get to feel well fed afterwards, but Louis has this feeling that Niall tries to be there for as much as possible for the simple reason that when he does he doesn’t feel useless.  

He tries to convince himself that he isn’t disappointed, but it’s a hard battle, and if he has to be hundred percent honest with himself, then it’s a battle he does not win.

The small town is called Mullingar; a place Niall has had a soft spot for ever since the potato disaster. Louis doesn’t know why, as he saw nothing special about the town and Niall never told him the reason, but the love for the place was there no matter what the reason then must have been.

If anything then Louis had hoped to hurt him. He _wanted_ to see the sorrow in Niall’s face when he saw the small place in ruins, but with Niall not even bothering to turn up and getting the souls of the city safely to the other side, then he kinda just feels empty, maybe even a bit sad.

 _Maybe this was a bad idea,_ War says, startling him since he hadn’t noticed her returning.

 _Since when do you think war is a bad idea?_ His voice is teasing, but he knows she’s able to hear the regret in it too. They both are.

 _I don’t. But starting here was,_ she simply says, and he agrees. It hurts too much here, because Louis can’t help but imagine a sad Niall somewhere, wanting nothing but to come here and do his job but at the same time wanting nothing less than to exactly that, because for once the people’s lives actually kind of matters.

For a while none of them says anything, both just watching as the fire slowly burns out and as the reapers quickly finds every single soul.

 _Done is done,_ he then says. _It won’t change anything. We are going to continue._

She doesn’t say anything, just looks at him with gentle eyes like she thinks he’s going to break down right in front of her. It’s surprising, because is all the time he has known her, in all the time they’ve both existed,  she has never felt bad for him or wanted to make sure he was okay. She is war, gentle is not a part of her, and that’s something Louis has known and been perfectly fine with in forever. He can’t say he doesn’t like this feeling though.

 _I’ve heard they have a wicked candidate for president in the USA at the moment. I feel like letting him win. Oh the fun that’s going to be,_ he grins, and it’s actually a real smile he gives her as he does so. He’s been wanting to do this ever since he heard of the man, and has used hours of quiet days on imagining just how much trouble that’d make in the world.

_So we’re done here? No more touching Ireland?_

_We’re done here. I don’t know if what we’ve done so far is enough to spread the poison, but if not then no, no more touching Ireland. At least not for now._

It’s needless to say that ‘not for now’ either means never at all or in like a hundred thousand years when the Ireland of today is no longer a thing.

War doesn’t bend down to make it easier for him to get up on her back, but luckily for him she isn’t even near as big as Famine so she doesn’t have to anyway. It doesn’t matter that besides the ride over here then it’s been just around seventy years since he last was on her back, because he’s still able to remember the exact way to lift himself of the ground so he ends up sitting just right.

Her fur is soft underneath him, a total contrast of her frizzy mane. Louis has always loved the frizzy mane the most. It makes her look wild and strong, whereas the soft fur gives her something almost elegant and cute. She’s anything but cute, but Louis doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything more beautiful. She beats the three other horses without a doubt, but then again Louis is pretty sure the three other boys would say the exact same thing about their other half. There’s a reason they got put together as they did after all.

Her legs aren’t as long as Famine’s, or Pestilence’s and even Death’s, but War is still a faster runner than the three horses will ever be. None of them really knows why, but Louis doesn’t really care anyway. The only thing he really cares about in that moment is that this is the closest he’ll ever get to feel like he’s having wings. Humans think they’re so smart with their airplanes and shit, but they’ll never really know. Louis won’t either, but he still feels like he’s so much closer than they’ll ever be.

He can’t stop the happy laugh from leaving him, as War goes from solid ground over to running over the water. The water is standing everywhere around them and they’re both soaked to the skin in less than five seconds, but to Louis it’s worth it, especially when War gives everything and begins running even faster.

 _We’ve never been closer to flying!_ Louis screams in War’s mind, and he can hear how she laughs along with him.

 _If I could fly, I’d fly away with you,_ she softly mutters as she has to slow down once again.

_When the apocalypse has happened and it’s time for us to die, promise me we’ll leave this earth flying._

_We’ll find a way,_ she agrees, and really that’s all Louis could ever ask of her.

Hours pass by, but Louis doesn’t really notice it happening. He’s too caught up in his own head to think anything of it, and it feels like merely seconds have passed before a familiar feeling of nausea makes him realise that they’re here.

For once he doesn’t really mind it, but maybe it’s because the excitement of what’s going to happen fill more than the nausea. This place is going to be in ruins once he’s done here.

¤¤¤

Louis knows they’re here, even though he can’t see them with his back turned towards them, and though none of them has said a word yet. It’s the crackling feeling of so much power being locked together in such a small amount of space. It’s been such a long time since they last were gathered together like this, but Louis has no problems recognising the feeling.

“What have you done?” Niall whispers, seeming so sad that Louis almost feels bad. He doesn’t though, because when it comes down to it, he has done nothing wrong.

“Exactly what none of you seemed to be able to do. We had one job, didn’t we? You are all so damn afraid of dying that you can’t see what’s actually happening to the world. I came here to start a war, I’ll admit, but you know what? I didn’t have to. The sad thing is that the only thing I’ve done is to be here. My pure presence has caused all this,” Louis says with a frown, his hands gesturing to the world outside the window.

War is out there, trying her absolute best to calm it down just a tad, because none of them thought when they arrived a week ago that this would be the result. Louis had thought he’d have to poke and have fun with figuring out how to get into the Whitehouse without having to become invincible because that would be no fun at all, but apparently that wasn’t necessary at all.

In a moment of panic they had looked at each other both screaming at each other, because what the fuck had they done? How had it come to this so damn quickly? War has been gone for three days, but everything has just gotten worse, and by now Louis has come to peace with the facts.

“The apocalypse is here, no matter what you guys might think of that,” he says, his voice soft.

“It can’t be. Not already! We’ve been so careful,” Harry whines, and Louis doesn’t have to look back at him to know he’s pulling his hair in frustration.

In the end he still turns around to face the three, and sees how they’re all in different states of fear. It’s kind of sad really how the four most destroying creatures walking on this planet is the ones who seems to be most worried about dying. Louis has long ago lost count of how many people he has sent into the arms of death, but one thing he does remember is how almost every single man who died in his wars, died with their hearts filled with courage and belief. There’s so many things Louis can criticize the human race for, but he has always admired the bravery in their hearts. Even those who died with their eyes closed in a try to reduce the fear, was somehow still brave, because contrary to what so many movies show, then Louis has yet to see a soul being afraid to cross over to the other side.

The four of them though, no one knows what awaits them once the apocalypse has happened and it’s time for them to leave. Where humans were promised to either live their afterlife in heaven or hell, there was never a word spilled of where the souls of the horsemen would end up.

Louis thinks that all of them got this feeling that they won’t get the afterlife the humans get, and he doesn’t know about the other’s but through the years he has more than once played with the thought of what would happen to them. The thing is, to cross the passage and enter heaven, or hell for that sake, Niall needs to be there to take you over on the other side. For some reason the grim reapers _can’t_. Sometime a long time ago he knows Niall made an experiment and made a reaper try to lead the soul to the other side. The experiment had ended badly and as far as Louis understood the soul got lost on the way. Niall hadn’t been able to find the soul again afterwards and Louis can’t seem to think of a time where the pale boy had ever been to distressed. 

The point of all this being that without Niall none of them will be able to cross, and with him most likely dying first then they’re all stuck here. At least that’s his theory; they’ll die but they’ll never really leave.

“Does that mean we’re just going to play it out. Push a little here and there and just watch as the humans get eradicated?” Liam asks angrily, clearly _not_ okay with that scenario.

“Please do tell what else you’d like to do,” Louis spits out quipped. “War’s been out there for three days now, trying to get everything back under control, and you know what? Everything has just gotten worse! Even if we _want_ to stop this, we _can’t_ and we _shouldn’t._ I don’t know if I’m the fucking only one who remembers, but this is exactly why we’re here!”

Louis can see how Liam wants to keep protesting, and how even Harry looks like we wants to say something, but Niall beats both of them as he calmly says. “Louis is right, and we’ve all been too blind to see it. I think we’ve all seen how the humanity in the world has slowly disappeared, maybe me more than any of you. I’ve tried my best to believe, but I think it’s time to look reality in the eyes. As Louis said, the apocalypse is here.”

¤¤¤

Louis doesn’t know where Liam and Harry disappear to, but all of a sudden he’s alone in the room with Niall. The other boy keeps his distance, and looks at Louis cautiously. Louis kinda gets why considered how they departed last time the saw each other, and the fact that Louis burned down Niall’s favourite town probably doesn’t help on it.

“I talked to Haz and Lili again, or more like forced them to spit out the truth of your little meeting.”

“Oh,” Louis just mutters in return. He honestly doesn’t really know what to say. Niall already knows everything, so what exactly should he say? I’m sorry for falling in love with you? Wouldn’t that just be pathetic?

“I think maybe that somewhere along the lines someone has misunderstood what I tried to say,” Niall says, squirming a little as Louis watches him intensely.

“That makes no sense, mate. It wasn’t exactly hard to misunderstand. I fancy you and you don’t return the feelings,” he says without any feeling in his voice at all. It’s hard to keep it all together, but if there’s a chance that maybe they all only got another century left, then Louis would like to spend them in peace with Niall, even if that means that he’ll have to keep his feeling at bay. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve lived this long with it, right?”

“No, but that’s the thing! The truth is that, yes, I did tell them that it was inappropriate, but I didn’t mean the fact that _you_ like me. I’ve always known that, just as I’ve always known about the fact that maybe Liam and Harry fancy me a little more than they should too. It’s a perfectly natural reaction for all of you, for the simple reason that everything you do in one way or another leads to me.

“I remember the day we were created, Lou. I remember the instructions and information we all got, but I also remember the part I was the only one being told. God and Lucifer created me to attract the three of you to do what you all do best. There is no wars, no hunger and no sickness without death, do you get what I’m trying to tell you?” Niall pleads with big eyes and his lips trembling slightly, like he thinks Louis is furious with him.

Louis isn’t exactly sure why, but for some reason that isn’t even the case anymore. At first, yes of course, but now he got nothing but sadness left behind. He doesn’t blame Niall is the thing. None of them was actually created for the purpose of love, only catastrophe.

He doesn’t say anything, just keeps his eyes on Niall as it almost seems like he’s going through a breakdown right in front of Louis. It’s scary, but for some reason he can’t get himself to move. It’s like he’s frozen, and no matter how much he wants to check up on him, then he just can’t _move._ Niall flickers, almost like he’s going to disappear in the thin air, but at the same time like he tries to fight the urge to escape before they can talk everything through.

“T-they said I couldn’t fall in love with any of you in return. That they needed the three of you to have a urge to have me near, but that I couldn’t do the same. _I_ had to make sure that no real feelings got involved and would make things complicated. It wasn’t _you_ who was acting inappropriate and wrong, Louis, you only did as you were created to do. _I_ was the one disrespecting my orders,” Niall close to whispers, gasping like it hurts him to say it out loud.

“I don’t understand,” Louis says, so, so confused. Niall can impossibly be saying what he thinks he’s saying. There’s no way that everything Louis has ever wanted should become reality. Things like that just do not happen to him. Harry might always have been the clumsy one, but in a way Louis has always thought that he was the unlucky one. At least Harry always seemed to be happy, even without the company of Niall.

Without hesitating though, Niall says the words that have been screaming inside Louis’ head. “I’m saying I’m in love with you too, you stupid little shit,” he gasps out, looking a bit like he’s going to choke.

“What the fuck is happening!” Louis says in near panic as his body finally seems to get its shit together and runs towards Niall as fast as possible. He wants to scream of happiness because of Niall’s words, but at the same time kill someone for making him look like he’s going to die. He can’t fucking die _now._

“I don’t think I was allowed to tell you,” he laughs out humourlessly, still trying to breathe properly. This is crazy! For God’s sake he doesn’t even need to breathe, but apparently he’s still going to choke two seconds after telling Louis what he has wanted to hear in forever.

He doesn’t know why he does it, maybe it’s just a little selfish part of him that just can’t let Niall go before having experienced it, but without thinking twice he lets his lips collide with Niall’s in a messy kiss. It kinda sucks, because Niall is still gasping heavily like a fish on land close to dying for a couple of seconds before he stop breathing altogether, but foolishly enough it’s still the one kiss that Louis has enjoyed the most in all his time. Niall isn’t even kissing him back, and is instead just kinda standing there looking dumbstruck, but it’s still the best twenty-seven seconds he has ever experienced. Not even his moment close to flying with War will ever beat them.

When he pulls back, Niall’s eyes are almost closed, the lashes just barely touching his skin. His cheeks are flushed in a pretty pink colour Louis had no idea could ever possibly appear on Niall’s skin. His mouth half open in a way that makes Louis think that he wants him to kiss him once again.

“Are you okay?” Louis carefully asks, a tiny bit afraid that he has fucked up completely.

“I’m perfect. Everything is perfect,” he breathes out, before he determined takes a step closer to Louis and pulls a little in his hair as he leans in for another kiss; a breathtaking one that makes Louis’ head spin in the most wonderful way.

¤¤¤

First comes the white horse, big and full of pride, with her horseman on her back, riding though the land. Behind them is left a sickness so terrible that people die only days, sometimes hours, after being infected.

Second comes the red horse, cocky and wild, with her horseman on her back, riding through the land. Left behind are wars and fights, battles and scars. No one is safe as bullets flies.

Third comes the black horse, full of laugher and bright, with her horseman on her back, riding through the land. After them comes a hunger so big, that no man, woman or child are left standing behind.

As the forth and the last, the pale horse comes riding through the land, so peaceful and soft, with her horseman on her back. Together they gather the souls of the dead, cleans the Earth as it once were said.

When the job is done and the four horsemen meets back up, they watch as the sky shines so bright, of the millions of souls entering the other side.

¤¤¤

“This is absolutely crazy!” Niall screams at the top of his lungs as Death and War both run the fastest they’ve ever ran towards the edge of the highest cliff they were able to find.

Just around fifty years has went since the humans being on Earth took their last breath, and since that day Louis has only been able to watch as the life in Niall too fucking quickly disappeared. It’s sad really, how he has spend his whole and very long life pining after Niall, but he only got to have his love for a small fifty years. Louis remembers how he thought he wouldn’t be ready to die this fast, how even another two centuries sounded of so little, and now he’s giving up so many years of his life to be able to decide how he wants to leave.

If this had been fifty years ago, nothing but a few scratches and bruises would have happened, but now when both of them is starved and weak, the result will end up being quite different.

War once promised him that they’d find a way to fly before they died, that their last adventure would be them flying as they left this planet. They’ve found their way now, and really Louis is buzzing.

“Just close your eyes,” Louis yells loudly back at him to outshout the wind in their ears. He sees how Niall follow his orders before taking a deep breath. He suddenly seems so calm. A small smile forms on Louis lips as he does the same thing. If he didn’t know any better he’d be thinking that they were already running across the sky.

Only a few seconds passes before War is screaming inside his head, over and over again, _we’re doing it! We’re flying, Lou!_

His eyes fly open, and he watches as her hooves touches nothing but the clear air, but how she’s somehow still running. They’re still moving forward, and it feels like they could keep going forever.

A shaking hand finds his, and Louis turns his eyes towards Niall. The pale boy is glowing more than ever before; smiling so brightly that Louis for a second believes he should have been the sun instead of Death. ‘I love you,’ he mouths, the smile turning soft.

“I love you,” Louis whispers back. It feels like he’s glowing just as much as Niall, and really it can’t be from anything but pure happiness.

He’s so focused on Niall that he doesn’t even notice when the flying turns into falling. It doesn’t matter. He got to experience the feeling of having wings, if only for just a small moment. Maybe it was not exactly flying, but to Louis it was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://nialliesmiley.tumblr.com/post/148539558748/follow-close-feel-the-high-gather-all-the-lives) :)


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